Thorns
by mistymidnight
Summary: AU-ish from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?
1. Prologue

**Title: **Thorns

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG, subject to change

**Disclaimer: **The characters and the canon don't belong to me, obviously. I own the plot for this fic, however. Don't take it and claim it as your own in any way, shape or form, please!

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Spoilers for seasons two, three, and four of Angel. Big star next to "four" for major spoilers, starting especially at "Shiny Happy People".

**Summary: **AU-ish from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?

**Author's Notes: **I watched the first ten or so minutes of "Shiny Happy People" today, and I just had to write this. I couldn't even watch the end of it, because I wanted to start right away. Yeah, I'm an obsessive writer. So sue me. No, on second thought, don't. I don't wanna get sued. That's why I put this disclaimer up there. )

**Prologue**

_"And Cordelia? Will she wake up?"_

_"If we take hold of the world, strip away the thorns, win the battle, then yes, I think she will."_

She lay in the same bed she had always lain in, ever since The Birthday. Different pajamas, from time to time, and different sheets, but always the same bed. The same bed with the same nail polish stain on the mattress and the places where small bits of thread poked out. She had loved that bed.

On some level, she still had to, because it was sort of her new home. She no longer wandered the halls of the Hyperion, no longer went out to eat or slay the Big Nasty or shop at her favorite stores. She didn't talk or laugh or cry. She just Was.

It wasn't so hard just Being. Certainly not fun. In fact, it was boring and frustrating, but at least she was good at it. Any moron could just Be.

But Cordelia Chase wasn't just any moron. She was special. In more ways than one, too. In high school, she had been special because she had money. And cars. Oh, and sometimes she helped save the world.

But then real life had hit, and she had lost the privilege of being special. She had to find a new way to get by.

And in that new way, she became not only special, but extraordinary.

She had saved the world, more times than once, become a half-demon, and Ascended for the good of the world. Or so she thought.

And now the world that she had always worked to save, had cherished and loved and, yeah, sometimes complained about, was in jeopardy. And whose fault was it? Hers.

Okay, so not completely. But if it wasn't for her, the world wouldn't be in this mess. This perfect, loving mess.

Cordelia Chase couldn't just sit back and Be anymore.

It was time to wake up.

Okay, yes, it was short, but I want to know what you guys think. Remember to review! You can even email me if you like: 

I'm liking this. Yay, this is me being committed to a fic. For once!


	2. Awakenings

**Title: **Thorns

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG, subject to change (?)

**Disclaimer: **They don't beloing to me. Never have, never will.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Major, major, major spoilers up until "Shiny Happy People"'s beginning.

**Summary: **AU from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?

**Author's Notes: **Imzadi: Who said she's waking herself up? Maybe there's a little (innocent grin) maaaaagic involved...

**Awakenings**

Angel smiled at the door as he walked past. In the year or so since The Birthday, he had only passed this door seven times, maybe once or twice more. He never really felt the need to visit Cordy, not in the world Jasmine had created. The world was perfect, and Cordy was resting and at peace, and that ws all that mattered. So why was he passing her door again for the third time today?

_Maybe you miss her,_ said a voice in his head. Jasmine's voice. _It's okay to be happy without her, you know. She doesn't want you to suffer. She brought me into this world for you, for your benefit. Enjoy it. Savor it._

_I do,_ Angel said. _Enjoy it, I mean. I just wish Cordy was here to enjoy what she created._

_The time will come, _Jasmine said. _But there is much to be done first. Remeber, we must strip away the thorns. We must eradicate the hatred. Only then will Cordelia awake._

_I understand, _he said. _What do you want me to do?_

* * *

Cordelia's eyes shot open and she sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. _Nightmare, nightmare, nightmare. Oh, God. _It was one heck of a dream, that's for sure. She wrinkled her forehead. _And they couldn't tell that I was evil by the witchy dress? Puh-lease. Like I'd ever wear that in real life._ She looked around the room. _Wait a second. _There were flowers by the foot of her bed, and lit candles around the room. _Oh, boy. _

Apparently, her 'nightmare' was of the 'real' variety. _Just great. _Now, if only she hadn't forgotten what had happened. Bits and pieces of memories remained, but not much else.

She heard footsteps in the hallway and she immediately laid back down, closing her eyes and relaxing her breathing just as someone walked in.

"Cordy?" It was Fred. "Cordy? Gosh, this is stupid. I mean, you're in a coma and all but I'm talking like you can hear me..."

_You have no idea. Go on._

"I just...I just wish you were awake so you could see what you've made the world into. It's perfect, Cordy, but it would be even better if you were here. Really. Jasmine says..."

Cordy lost her there, because she was too busy thinking about this Jasmine person. She didn't remember a Jasmine from her not-so-nightmare-y nightmare. The last thing she remembered was blinding pain, and then...just Being.

"Fred," she whispered, praying it was the right thing to do.

"Cordy?" Fred said.

"It's me," Cordy groaned, her eyes flicking open.

"Oh my gosh!" Fred exclaimed, jumping up from the kneeling position she'd been in. "Cordy, you're awake! You're alive! I mean, Jasmine said you'd be, so I never doubted, but--now! And--and me!"

"Fred--" Cordelia began.

"I have to tell the others!" Fred said, starting for the door. "Jasmine will be so thrilled!"

"Jasmine?"

Fred paused. "Don't you remember Jasmine?"

"No."

"Well, then, we'll have to bring you to her," Fred said. "She's your daughter. Our queen."

"Queen?"

Fred paused, then smiled broadly. "You'll understand when you see her," she explained hastily. She paused and cocked her head, as if she was listening to something. "Jasmine wants to see you," she told Cordelia. "She can feel that you've awoken. And..." Fred's voice changed from high-pitched rambling to a soft, calming voice. Jasmine's voice. "...And I want to meet my mother."

If she hadn't been taking in a deep breath at that very moment, Cordelia would have screamed at the sudden voice-change. Fred, however, seemed not only unbothered by it, but honored. "Jasmine just spoke through me, didn't she?" she asked excitedly. "Oh, that's just great. _She _spoke through _me_!"

"Yeah," Cordy agreed absent-mindedly. "That's awesome."

Fred frowned. "Are you sure you're okay? You sound glum. Are you being overexerted? Am I upsetting you? I mean, you've been in the coma for a year and..."

"A year?!" Cordy asked shrilly, reaching up to feel her face. It was an act of habit from the "Old-Cordelia": Wrinkle-Check. She used to do it all the time.

"Ever since The Birthday," Fred informed her.

"The Birthday?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"Jasmine's birthday," Fred said, holding Cordelia by the arm like she was an old lady that needed to be helped across the street or up a flight of stairs. "Kind of ironic, you waking up exactly one year later."

"To the day?"

Fred nodded, and they began to journey the hallways of the Hyperion. "A year ago today."

"So Jasmine's been around for a year?"

"Yeah. She's so...so pure and loving. Just wait until you meet her."

"So, what have you been up to? Slaying big nasties?"

"We don't slay any more. We just spread Jasmine's love."

"Has anyone ever told you that sounds just a tad like a cult tagline?"

"Nope," Fred chirped. "There are no cults any more. There's a new order. Jasmine is the only supreme being."

They stopped outside a door. Fred knocked on it. "Come in, Fred. Mother." The voice that called them in was musical, fluid.

Fred opened the door and led Cordelia in. And then Cordelia saw the worst thing she'd ever seen in her life.

It was rotting. Worms and maggots crawled in and out of holes they had chewed where the thing's face was supposed to be.

And the scariest part was when the thing said in that charming, musical voice:

"Cordelia?"

* * *

I finally posted! Yay me!

mistymidnight


	3. Meetings

**Title: **Thorns

**Author: **mistymidnight

**Rating: **PG, subject to change (?)

**Disclaimer: **They don't beloing to me. Never have, never will.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Major, major, major spoilers up until "Shiny Happy People"'s beginning.

**Summary: **AU from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?

**Author's Notes: **Thanks to the people who reviewed. I can count them on one hand (okay, I could if I had six fingers), but thankjs anyway. To the rest of you: reviews? Pretty please?

I think I'm gonna change the summary, see if I can get more readers. For memory's sake, the summary used to be:

"AU-ish from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?"

Okay, now that that's done...

_"Remembering the past is the only way we can fix our mistakes. Or at least blame them on someone else and move on."_

Great quote. Love it. (From "The Complete History of America (Abriged)", The Reduced Shakespeare Company)

**Meetings**

"Cordelia?"

_Oh, God, it's saying it again. That thing is talking to me. _

"Cordelia?" It was Fred talking now. "Cordy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just perfect," she lied. "I'm, uh, overcome with emotion at seeing what, uh, joy and peace my child had brought the world."

The thing smiled. "Thank you, Mother."

_You're welcome, hell-beasty thing._

Fred smiled. "I'm gonna get the others."

"No need," the thing called Jasmine said. "Ive found thme already. In their minds. THey are coming."

"So, you can read minds," Cordelia said conversationally. _Oh, God, no. Don't let her read mine. Please._

"No, not exactly," the Jasmine-thing replied in the same conversational tone. "But I can speak within minds."

"Care to give a demo?"

The thing laughed kindly. "I can't speak to you within your mind, Mother. We already have a bond, a natural bond, between mother and child. THere is no need for a magical bond. It's already there."

_Oh, how lovely._

Suddenly, Angel burst into the room. "You said--" he gasped, looking at Jasmine.

"Right here," she smiled, gesturing to Cordelia. "It's true. Cordelia is awake."

Angel rushed over and hugged Cordelia, who squeezed him tightly back. _Even if he's under this Jasmine hocus-pocus, I can still pretend he's not. He's still my Angel. Our Angel. The one and only, not some Jasmine-drone..._

"...to the people as soon as you're ready."

Cordelia blinked. She had gotten lost in her thought. "Huh?"

Angel repeated his words. "I said that maybe you'll want to appear publicly. As soon as you feel up to it."

_To tell you the truth, I'll never feel up to it._

"Sure. But I wanna do something first."

And that was how Cordelia Chase found herself in a car, one hour later, driving to Sunnydale.

Yeah, it's short. But I'm tired. So there.

* * *

That 'being tired' excuse also applies if this was a crappy chapter, or, as I will call it, a crap-ter. Thanks for reading, anyway.

mistymidnight


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